WIBL #41

WIBL #41

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Eve Lom Cleanser (£55 for 100ml):
I was lucky enough to win this gorgeous cleanser as part of a gift set from a Twitter giveaway last month from TheBeautySeries (Thanks again Jess!) and I've been really enjoying it so far. It's gorgeous and thick as you can see, and it also has a slightly gritty texture that helps to exfoliate the skin as it cleanses. My only drawback with this cleanser is the smell - boy is it strong! The only reason that's offputting is because one of the main scents is clove (my ultimate enemy), but if you can deal with that (which I can, just about) it's an absolutely stunning cleanser.

REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial (£32):

I actually bought this a while back, but as with many things in my advanced collection, it soon fell to the back of the shelf. However, recently I have been really enjoyed using it for a quick all-over treatment - its initial gritty texture makes for a great exfoliator, and when you activate the Vitamin C using water, it really firms and plumps the skin whilst adding a lovely glow. Score.

Gosh Velvet Touch Lip Liner in 01 Nougat Crisp (£4.99):

I decided to add this lipliner to my growing collection (do not fret, post coming soon!) when Lily Melrose mentioned it in one of her recent haul videos. It's an amazing kickback to the nude-brown-pink lip of the 90's, and I've been thoroughly enjoying partaking in some of the makeup trends of my birth generation. Think Kylie Jenner meets early Rachel Green and you've got it.

P.S. I am fully aware that this month's Vogue cover is a blogger 'go-to' at the moment, but I honestly just bought it due to my intense love for Daenerys Targaryen and the utterly gorgeous Emilia Clarke!

Continue Reading...

comments: 8

Gotta have it #1

Gotta have it #1

Friday, May 1, 2015

Staying at home all the time revising and writing essays has really got me lusting after some goodies - many of which I might just treat myself to after my exams! Also with my birthday coming up, my eyes have been wandering more than usual and boy am I excited to leave the house and get my arse straight to SpaceNK! Again, I'm sorry for the lack of posts, but I only have one month left, and then things will be back to normal. Anyway, moving away from Chekov and towards cleansers, let's take a sneak peek at what's made it onto my ever-growing wish list...

Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel (£28):

I have heard nothing but good things about this cult cleanser, and I feel that it's about time that I get my hands on it and give it a good ol' going over. Although it's labelled as a 'gel', I've been informed that it has a balm/oily consistency (which suits my dry skin down to the ground) so I'm definitely lusting after this. In fact, by the time I eventually get this post up, it might already be mine - watch this space.

Nails Inc. Swan Street Polish (£14): 

Lord knows I love a pastel nail (or any nail polish really...) and ever since Vivianna Loves Makeup featured this fabulous off-white pastel green polish, I haven't been able to get it off of my mind. Both Swan Street and another shade that has caught my eye called White Horse Street are from Nails Inc's 'The New White' collection, and I'm all over it. 

MAC Eyeshadow x 9: Navy Times Nine (£30):

Ever since Christine from Temptalia mentioned these new 9-pan eyeshadow palettes were set to release here in the UK during April, I've been refreshing the MAC website daily. I don't really need another eyeshadow palette (especially as I already own two of the shadows) but ever since I saw Brittany from Life, Set Sail rocking the 'Navy Times Nine' palette, I knew that it had to be mine. It was finally released yesterday, so I'm going to head to the MAC counter tomorrow and swatch to my heart's content. 

Oskia Renaissance Mask (£48.50):

I don't know if I could ever justify spending £50 on a mask, but if I somehow stumble across a SpaceNK voucher for exactly that amount, then I would really like to try this bad boy. As with the cleanser, I've heard nothing but good things about this mask - maybe I can try and blag a sneaky sample at SpaceNK? 

Anastasia DipBrow Pomade (£15):

This is a product that most certainly does not need an introduction, and is one that has been on my wish list for far, far too long, simply because it's not super easy to get your hands on. I'm much less impulsive when I shop online, so this has yet to be a result of an 'oh, why the hell not' purchase, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out! Let me know if you've tried it, I'd love to know what you think!

Cities Skylines (£22.99):

This is more of a nerdy pipe-dream than an actual item on my wish list, but this game is looking truly awesome. I hardly doubt that my Macbook Pro could handle running this game without some serious lag, but I thought I'd add a geeky extra to my wish list this time around so you guys get a bit more of an idea about what I do when I'm not messing around with skincare. 

Continue Reading...

comments: 10

Smouldering eyes from MeMeMe.

Smouldering eyes from MeMeMe.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Why hello! How is everyone doing? I honestly have no idea if this is going up on the right day as my blogging schedule has gone right out the window in this last month of uni! Nevertheless, for today's post I was lucky enough to receive a beautiful kit from MeMeMe to review and I thought I'd show you guys a really quick and simply smouldering eye look. The kit in question is the 'Create the Look Collection' kit in 'Smouldering'* which contains the Smouldering Eyes quad baked palette, the Dark & Divine mascara, a Kohl Eye Line Pencil in Coal, and an Eye Sweep Precision Eye Definer - and you get all of this for £17.50. After completing this look and testing out the products some more, I am incredibly blown away by how good this kit actually is. As you can probably see from the pictures below, the eyeshadow quad has some amazing pigmentation, and the texture itself was extremely buttery and easy to apply. Both eyeliners are incredibly black, and although I generally prefer a thinner nib on my liquid eyeliner, I have to say that it was pretty easy to apply and lasted really well throughout the day, even on my slightly hooded eyes. The mascara was also nice but is definitely aimed at lengthening and separating rather than adding much volume. For me, the standout product was really the eyeshadow quad (which you can buy separately from the kit, as well as all of the other products) simply because I was so blown away by the quality of it, as well as the gorgeous shades.

The Look:

This eye look was incredibly simple to do because the products were so easy to use, but in case you want to replicate it at home, this is what I did (I hope it's clear enough!):

1. Apply the darkest brown shade along the upper lash line as if you were lining it. You really want to make your lash line really dark to give the illusion of fuller lashes, so make sure the colour is strong.

2. Blend the darker brown colour upwards using the lighter grey colour to transition it. Think of it as an ombré on your lid!

3. Get a fluffy brush and use the lighter brown shade to blend out the edges of the grey in the crease.

4. Line your upper lash line using the liquid eyeliner, and tight line your eyes using the kohl pencil. Make sure to use the kohl pencil on the water line too!

5. Go over the liquid liner with the dark brown shade that you used at the beginning to soften the line and to make sure that you still have that dark brown to grey to light brown ombré.

6. Take the dark brown along the lower lash line.

7. Apply mascara and tidy up and edges with concealer and you're done!

So there you go! What do you guys think of the look? Have you tried any of these products, or any others from MeMeMe? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comment section below! :)

The products marked with an asterisk (*) were sent to me for reviewing purposes, but all opinions my own. No payment was received for this post, apart from the products themselves.

Continue Reading...

comments: 3

The eyeliner hiatus.

The eyeliner hiatus.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Growing up, eyeliner was always my 'thing'. Having a sister four years older than me meant that I had an interest in makeup from a young age; and as thick, black eyeliner was always a favourite of hers, it quickly became a staple for me. In fact, I remember once arriving at school when I was about 11/12 years old and being pulled to the side and told that I had too much eyeliner on. Of course, I decided to ignore the haters and kept on rocking my heavy black eyeliner (which, looking back, certainly was not a good look against my pale, hormonal skin!)

Fast forward a few years and I finally came to the realisation that dark brown was a much more flattering shade on my skin, and that eyeliner looks much better if you apply it to both the upper and lower lashes (yes - I'm ashamed to admit that until then it was only on the lower lash line!!) It was still pretty full on, but over the years it has softened and developed into the the way that I wear it now - light along the entire upper lash line/waterline, and minimal on the outer corner of the lower lash line. Perfection - on occasion that is. During the last few months, I've gone from wearing that style of eyeliner nearly everyday to wearing it once in a while. Instead, I've been favouring a much simpler look - simple eyeshadow (usually only one shade - the horror!!) and a lashing of mascara. Fifteen year old me would frown in disgust at the person I've become, but I've found myself enjoying the ease and simplicity of this look, and preferring to save eyeliner looks for special occasions or the odd 'shake-up' day. Without sounding a million years old, I think that learning to embrace your natural self comes with age; I'm only a month away from turning twenty-two and I am much more comfortable in my own skin than I was even three years ago. For me, makeup has become more of a treat/way to express myself, rather than a mask to hide behind - used to cover up my 'many' flaws and boost my confidence.  

So - there's the story of my life!! Have any of you found your relationship with makeup changing as you grow older? If so, how? I'm very curious, so leave a comment below!

Continue Reading...

comments: 10

NIP+FAB Skin Glycolic Instant Fix Mask

NIP+FAB Skin Glycolic Instant Fix Mask

Saturday, April 11, 2015

If you've been around for a while and have seen posts like this, then you'll know that I am an avid fan of chemical exfoliators. Having incredibly dry yet somehow combination skin, exfoliators in all shapes and forms are a very important part of my skincare regime. So, when the Nip+Fab Skin Glycolic Instant Fix Mask* landed on my doorstep, I was a very happy bunny indeed. As part of Nip+Fab's Glycolic Fix line, there is a high potency mask aimed at tightening pores and exfoliating and smoothing the skin's texture. In order to achieve these claims, the mask itself contains the following ingredients:

- Glycolic acid: retextures and resurfaces. Reduces appearance of fine lines and wrinkles 

- Evermat™: minimises pore size, reduces shine, refines skin tone

- Amino acid: skin brightener, helps fade age-spots, improves clarity and evenness of skin tone

- Glycerin: moisturises, revives and helps restore skin suppleness

When it comes to comparing the Nip+Fab Skin Glycolic Instant Fix Mask* to some of the other chemical exfoliators in my collection, I'd say it fairs pretty well, but probably won't be taking the top place of my REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask, and there are two simple reasons for that. Firstly, due to its Evermat™technology, this is just a bit too drying for my skin. I am fully aware that exfoliators dry out your skin, but this does more so than the REN mask, and for someone with incredibly dry skin in the first place, that places it at a disadvantage. Secondly, I did have a tiny, rather odd reaction to this mask. After applying it all over my face and neck for the specified amount of time and then removing it, I was left with red patches on both sides of my jaw/neck. It was strange because the lines were quite clean, as you can see in an Instagram picture here, but I can't really figure out why! These marks did, however, fade within 30 minutes and didn't seem to leave any damage behind, but I thought they were worth mentioning for all of you with sensitive skin. 

Despite my slight gripes with this mask, I honestly think it's a great buy if you're in the market for a chemical exfoliating mask. Although it didn't work amazingly on me, that is totally down to my individual skin type, so don't let that put you off if you have oilier/combination skin as I think it could do wonders for the right person. At £12.95 this mask is quite the bargain, so I would definitely give it a go - especially if you're not willing to splash out £30+ for an alternative!

The products marked with an asterisk (*) were sent to me for reviewing purposes, but all opinions my own. No payment was received for this post, apart from the products themselves. 

Continue Reading...

comments: 17